Verlander Unhappy With K.C's Cabrera
Once upon a time, it would have borne watching the next time Justin Verlander faces Kansas City's Melky Cabrera.
Nowadays, maybe not.
Of course in the once-upon-a-times of baseball, Verlander wouldn't have made public notice of Cabrera's actions during his bid for a second straight no-hitter. He would have kept his lip zipped and quietly stuck a fastball right in Cabrera's ribs or backside a month or two down the road.
But having put the Royals' center fielder on notice for unprofessional behavior, that's probably the end of it.
Verlander, in his first start since his no-hit game at Toronto, had held Kansas City hitless through three innings when No. 2 hitter Cabrera led off the fourth.
"He rolled over on a 2-0 pitch and grounded to the second baseman," Verlander told the media after the game. "He was yelling all the way down the line, 'I should have hit that.'
"Okay, I understand that. It was a good pitch to hit. But that would be like me yelling at somebody when they got a hit off me. It had nothing to do with him getting the first hit (RBI triple with two out in the sixth).
"I thought it was a little unprofessional. I voiced my opinion after I got him out (fly ball to left) to end the eighth inning.
Just shows how the times have changed. Television and microphones catch everything.
There was a time when pitchers merely would have made hitters move their legs, try to give a whole new meaning to "Dancing with the Stars."
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